Karmê Chöling : Meditation Retreat Center

Mindfulness Practice

All levels of meditators welcomed!
This half-day meditation retreat is an opportunity to "just sit" and steep in mindfulness practice. The main practice will be sitting meditation known as shamatha or peaceful abiding. We will alternate periods of sitting with walking meditation and brief Dharma readings. This is an opportunity to deepen your meditation and be able to practice with a community of meditators. Deepening in mindfulness meditation is appropriate for beginners to experienced meditators.

Beginning meditation instruction available
If you are new to meditation or have questions you would like to ask a meditation instructor, we will provide meditation instruction apart from the main group. With meditation instruction we give detailed directions on both basic sitting meditation and a "zen-style" walking meditation technique. We will talk a little about the view and understanding of meditation as well as go over some "best practices". This will provide you a good foundation on which to base an ongoing, consistent meditation practice at home. You'll have the opportunity to ask any meditation questions you might have in this instruction period.
You are welcomed and encouraged to join the main group in the shrine room afterwards.

Mindfulness and Body Based Practices for Helping Clients with Trauma

Join us on a journey to understand how trauma interrupts the well being of those we serve, and how we can help support healing.

Through the exploration of Buddhist principles, meditation practice and therapeutic methods, we will experientially learn how the awareness cultivated through meditation can help us relate to our own experience of discomfort with more acceptance, embodying the way to healing.

With the goal of a clearer understanding of the experiences of those we work with, we will learn basic principles of how trauma is stored in the body, and engage in somatic practices to facilitate trauma release. Our work together will be aimed at both helping clients navigate their own experiences, as well as cultivating compassion within ourselves.

This retreat is open to helping professionals which may include those in the mental health or medical fields, mediators, educators or outreach workers, and is designed to create a deeper understanding of trauma response patterns, as well as to introduce techniques useful in guiding clients toward more self acceptance and healing.

Note: The Fullness of Being retreat is open to everyone and also fulfills the 5-day retreat prerequisite for aspiring MBSR Teachers or as professional development for experienced mindfulness teachers (if in doubt, please check with your training organization).

“Fullness of being” refers to living life authentically, able and content to be fully who we are. One way to discover and experience such fullness of being is through the path of mindfulness meditation—a path that strengthens our human capacities for openness, deep caring, resilience, insight, and more. The practice of silent meditation has been encouraged throughout time in many contemplative traditions as a way to reconnect us with our unconditional confidence, natural wakefulness, and inherent goodness.

Aging is not a problem, But our 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑠 of aging are!

Aging reminds us that we are mortal and that time will run out on us. Paradoxically, awareness of our mortality may heighten our love of life.
With the increase in longevity and the expectation of many healthy years beyond retirement, there is a cultural need to revision aging from decline and uselessness to a time of life that promises many opportunities for inner growth and personal enrichment.
Aging itself may call forth new strengths and capacities that weren't available in previous stages of our life. Yet our culture lacks rites of initiation to honor these stages of human development. Where each stage has its own set of challenges, which may involve new losses and vulnerabilities— there is also the possibility of a renewed sense of meaning and purpose.